Loss-preventing device for purses



Dec. 25, 1951 E. c. HENDERSON 2,580,296

LOSS-PREVENTING DEVICE FOR PURSES Fi led Nov. 12, 1948 INVENTOR.

ELDON C. HENDERSON H/S ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 25, 1951 UNITED YST'ATESQRPATENT OFFICE" r Y 2 ,580,296 V LOSS-VPREYENTINVG DEVICE FOR PURSES'Eldon-C'Henderson, Paso Robles, Calif. 1 I Aipplieatidn November 12,1948, Serial No. 59,549

- Claims. (01.150 47) Thiscinvention relates toprotec tive' devices forlpreventing loss of, pursesfrom pockets of articles of clothing, such astrouser pockets, and is particularly concerned with a simple,pra'cticaland inexpensive device which may be 'rernovably en- 'gaged with a purse.As used in the present specification and claims, the term purse includesbillfolds, pocketbooks, wallets and the like.

, Various mechanical safety attachments for billf olds, pocketbooks andthe like have been proposed heretofore, but have for various reasons notgainedwide acceptance, Devices having wire frames orpivoted rigid armsmounted, on the purse toswing outwardly from. thelside edges ,,of thepurse after it has been inserted" into the pocket for engaging thepocket lining and thereby preventing extraction through. the pocketopeningare often complicated, or tend tolwear Loutthe pocket liningatthe point of contact, or

distend the pocket tothe extent of deforming the :clothing anddetractingfrom' the neat appearance theref, or cause discomfort to thewearer,

or are apt toget out of order,,or suffer from more 'than one'of ,thesedrawbacks. ,Someof n the known safety devices of the above ,mentionedtypes, aswell as othertypes employing clampsor grips which engage theclothing are time con ,s'uming, in that the purse cannot be rapidly .in-

sorted into or extracted fromthe pocket;

,,It is, therefore, an object' of this invention to provide an improvedloss-preventing, device for securing a purse Withinthe'pocket of anarticle 'of' clothingwhich deviceis structurally simple and has as fewmechanical elements as'possible, and: causes no personal discomfort inits use.

It is a further object toprovide security against accidental lossandunauthorizedremoval of a purse from a pocket by means of a guard tabwhich"issecu'redto the purse by hinge means, 'the guardtabbeingextremely simple in operation and installation and being so constructedas 'to' avoid the danger of wearing out or distending the pocket liningor the tendency'to distnd the clothing to the extent of being noticeableto" the article of clothing,

Briefly, according to the present invention, the purse is provided witha guard tab made of thin, stilf sheet material and supported at the sideedge of the purse, i. e., at the edge which is perpendicular to thepocket opening when the purse is in its normal position within thepocket. In the usual case. the pocket opening is substantiallyhorizontal and the said side edge of the purse is vertical. The hinge'isconstructed to operate on a hinge line which is parallel to said sideedge of the purse and is fixed to the guard tab, i. e., immovablyconnected thereto, either permanently or detachably. The hinge is,furthenfixed to a stiff, purse-engaging tab which may be engaged in anysuitable manner to the purse. The guard tab is of such width (measuredin a direction perpendicular to the hinge line, i'. e., horizontall inthe usual case) that when it is in its operative, unfolded position(extending away from the purse) the aggregate width ofthe guard tab, ofthestiffstructure se- 5 Another object is to provide a loss-preventingOther objects areto provide means for securing a purse against lossfroma pocket which adds but little bulk to thepurse; wherein the added guardtab may be utilized forindicia, suchas identification and/ oradvertising? and which can be manufacturedatanextremely low cost.

cured to the hinge, and of the hinge itself exceed slightly the width ofthe mouth or opening of the pocket, thereby preventing extractionthereof through said mouth or opening. By folding the guard tab aboutthe hinge such aggregate width maybe reduced, thereby permitting passageof the purse and guard tab through the pocket opening. a

i In the preferred embodiment of the invention the hinge is made offlexible material, such as fabric, imitation leather (Leatherette),leather, oilcloth, flexible plastic sheet material, etc., and is sosecured to the guard tabas to maintain it in spaced relation to thestifi structure to which the hinge is fixed to facilitate folding of theguard tab over theouter face of the'purse and substantially parallel tosuch face when the guard 'tab is moved to its inoperate position topermit passage of th purse through the pocket opening. The size'oftheihterval between the stiff guard taband the stiff structure on theother side of the hinge will, of course, depend upon the'thickness ofth'e purse. The hinge of flexible mate- 'rial is preferably, but notnecessarily, constructed so as to have a natural tendency to unfold'theguard tab to its operative position, thereby facilitating use andmaking it possible to secure the purse within the pocket withoutthe needto grasp theguard tab at'its edge when folded falongside of the purseand then fold it outwards with the end of the fingeralways an awkwardand time-consuming operation. With this pre ferred construction theguard tab, when released,

#15 tends to unfold, but is usually prevented from moving fully to itsoperative position 'by engagement thereof with the pocket lining; it ismerely necessary to distend the lining momentarily, permitting the guardtab to complete its movement to operative position.

The width of the guard tab is, in the preferred form, somewhat less thanthe width of the purseengaging tab, thereby facilitating movement of theguard tab about its hinge while within the Pocket.- 7

The invention will be'betterunderstood by ref erence to the accompanyingdrawing forming a part of this specification and showing one preferredembodiment of the inventionloy. way.. of i1- lustration. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view ofa' loss-preventing device of theindependent type, shown in its unfolded or operative position;-

Fig. 2 is an elevational view, on a reducedscale; of a purse to whichtheedevice of Fig. 1 has been vappliedand which is secured within apocket, the pocket lining being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view corresponding. to. Fig. 3 butshowing the guard .tab in its inoperative position, folded back againstthe outside of the purse for permitting passage through the pocketopening.

Referringto Fig. l, the loss-preventing, device comprises a guard tabI0, a-purse-engaging tab I I, and a connecting hinge I2. The two tabsare made 1 of any thin, relatively stiff sheet mate rial, such aspressed fiber board, celluloid, plastic sheeting, metal, or heavy andsurface-coated cardboard. The hinge. may be made of any constructionpermittingrepeated fiexure, and preferably such asto urge the two tabsinto relatively extended positions, as shown. The preferredconstruction. shown comprises imitation leather stitched both to theguardtab and to the purseengaging tab. Either or both of the, tabs maybe covered for protection against wear, to present a richer appearance,and to reduce wear of the pocket lining at the point of contact. thesepurposes is particularly applicable to the guard tab, and in theembodiment shown the hinge and cover are made of one piece of material.Thus, the guard tab is built upof a thin sheet of stiiT materialI3-completely enclosed in the imitation leather'cover I4 which is foldedover the'upper, straight edge and stitched alongthe outer andlower-edges I5 and I6, the stitches being indicated at IT. Two parallelportions of the cover extend beyond the left edge of the sheet I3, andthe. tab I I is secured between them by stitching I8. It will benotedthat the near edges of the tab I I and the stiff sheet 13 are spacedapart by. the hinge, leaving an interval the purpose of which willbecome apparent hereafter. By using two parallel sheets of flexiblematerial spaced apart slightly, the hinge has a tendency tov urge theguard tab toits operative, unfolded, position.

The width of. the loss-preventing device, from the outer edge I5 to theedge I9 of the tab II, which edge is remote from the hinge I2, isslightly greater than the width of the mouth or opening of the pocket ofthe clothing within which the purse is to be secured, e. g., ,a hiptrouserpocket. The width ofthe purse-engaging tab II is approximatelyequal to or slightly less than the width of thepurse, while the width ofthe guard tab is somewhat less than that of the purse-engaging tab.-Moreover, it is preferred to cut away the lower, outer corner of theguard tab and to round it as. shown at 20, to merge. smoothly with theThe. last of lower edge I6, which is shorter than the upper edge 2 I.Making the lower edge shorter than the upper edge obviates the tendencyof the lower outer corner of the guard tab to bind against the pocketlining, while the rounded shape prevents wear of the lining at the pointof contact with the guard tab. When used to secure a purse in the rearhip pocket the device is positioned with the guardltab toward .tliecenters of; the :body and the hinge vertical; the rounded constructionshown then assists in avoiding discomfort to the wearer and inpreventing deformation or disarrangementof the clothing which woulddetract from the neat appearance thereof. The lower corner ofithe ta'bII may be similarly clipped, as shown at 22. To insure positive engagingaction with the "topof the pocket lining at the pocket opening forpreventing accidental or unauthorized extraction the upper edge 2! ofthe guard tab is preferably made straight.

In usingthe devicethe purse-engaging tab II is inserted into a purse ofany suitable type into any engaging part thereof, e. g;, into acompartment which opens to one of its side. edges, or into loops,especially provided for the purpose, etc. In the exampleillustrated inFigs..2'-4, the'purse is shown asa billfold 23' of the type.that'is'folded along a transverse axis. The loss-preventingdevice isattached by placing the tab I I between the opposed sections withthefolded edge 24 of the billfold at the bottom. To:insert the billfoldinto the rear left hip trousenpocket shown, the guard tab is folded.over the outer face of' the billfold, as shown in Fig. 4', suchfoldingbeingpossible because of theinterval between.the edges of thestiff sheets I I'and I3.- The assembled purse and loss-preventing deviceare then grasped in folded position and lowered through the opening 25'of the pocket, withthe hinge vertical. The guard tab is then releasedand'tlie lining 26' is moved away from the purse for a small distance,permitting the guard tab'to rotate outwardly and to the operativeposition shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The billfold usually assumes a positionat the center of the. pocket, causing the tab I I'to project outtowardthe left as shown, although this will not occur with purses whichare notopen at both side edges. In the billfold shown, wherein the sideedges 2'land 28 of-the billfoldare. o en, the outer edges. oithe tabsIOand II are free. to engage the lining26;.but-.since the lining isusually tailored with .sufficient width, .both edges-do not normallyengage the lining- Because theloss=preventing device is.of.' fixedwidth. and does. not resiliently, bearv against the pocket lining,thetendency to. wear thelining is minimized... Various changes may bemade inthe form of the invention herein shown .and described withoutdeparting from the spirit of the.invention and .the scopeof the.following claims.

I claimasmy. invention:

1. A loss-preventing device for securing apurse within a; pocket-of anarticle of clothing comprising a purse-engaging tab and a guard tab,both tabs being of. thin, stiff sheet material, a flexiblewear-resistant cover permanently fixed onleach face of theguard tab andextending as two parallel sheets beyond one edge of the guard tab andfixed to opposite faces of .the purse-engaging tab'to form .a -hingebetween said tabs, there being a small interval between the tabs, thecombined widths of said tabs and of, said interval in adirectionperpendicular to the hinge: being slightly greater than'the width of'the. opening of said pocket to preventextraction thereof through saidopening when the tabs are unfolded within 7 the pocket with the hingesubstantially perpendicular to the opening, said interval being greatenough to permit the guard tab to be folded over the outside face of thepurse when the purse-engaging tab is inserted into said purse to permitpassage of the purse and loss-preventing device through said opening.

2. A loss-preventing device for securing a purse within a pocket of anarticle of clothing comprising a purse-engaging tab and a guard tabspaced apart to provide an interval, both tabs being of thin, stiffsheet material, and a hinge of flexible sheet material spanning saidinterval and fixed to each of said tabs to allow the guard tab to befolded over the outer face of the purse when the purse-engaging tab isinserted into said purse, the aggregate width of the device in adirection perpendicular to the hinge between remote edges being slightlygreater than the width of the opening of said pocket to preventextraction thereof through said opening when the tabs are unfoldedwithin the pocket with the hinge substantially perpendicular to saidopening and both tabs having widths less than the width of said opening,whereby the device can be extracted through said opening when the guardtab is folded over the side of the purse.

3. The loss-preventing device according to claim 2 wherein the hingecomprises two sheets of flexible sheet material fixed to opposite facesof the guard tab and to opposite faces of said purse-engaging tab.

4. In combination with a purse adapted to be placed in the pocket of anarticle of clothing with the side edges of said purse substantiallyperpendicular to the opening of said pocket; a guard I Numb er tab ofthin, stiff sheet material extending beyond one of said side edges andhaving a margin substantially parallel to said edge and spaced therefrom to provide an interval, the Width of said guard tab from saidmargin to the edge remote therefrom being less than the width of thepurse; a hinge made of flexible sheet material operable on a hinge linethat is substantially parallel to said edge spanning said interval andattached directly to said guard tab and extending beyond said marginthereof; and a purse-engaging tab detachably engaged with said purse andpermanently fixed to the flexible material of the hinge adaptedtoposition said hinge line immediately beyond said' side edge of the purseto permit the guard tab to be folded over the outer face of the purse byflexing the hinge, the distance from said edge of the guard tab which isremote from the said margin to the part of the purse and.engaging tabcombination farthest from said edge being slightly greater than thewidth of the said opening of the pocket to prevent extraction of thepurse and the extended guard tab through said opening.

ELDON C. HENDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED -The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,055,516 Carter Mar. 11, 1913 2,176,387Blakey Oct. 17, 1939 2,369,597 Miller Feb. 13, 1945 2,430,042 BisbingNov. 4, 1947 2,448,398 Schwartz Aug. 31, 1948

